


One of Us

by Wolflover21



Category: Voltron - Fandom, season 8 fix it fic
Genre: Kick, M/M, klance, voltron season 8 fix it fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-22 14:46:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17061752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolflover21/pseuds/Wolflover21
Summary: Lance is reeling after Allura rejects him, but soon realizes it was a blessing in disguise after remembering moments shared with Keith.





	1. Chapter 1

Keith patted Kosmo’s head as the two of them looked out at what could be their last sunset on earth...at least for a little while. Kosmo whined a bit and Keith looked at him with those big purple eyes of his, smiling at the wolf.  
“What, buddy?” He asked, chuckling, as the wolf settled his muzzle down on Keith’s lap.  
“We’re not going to be apart, boy. I promise. Everywhere I go, you go.”  
Kosmo looked up at Keith and leaned up to lick his owner’s face and Keith smiled bigger. This was perfect, just the two of them side by side. 

Neck and neck. 

The phrase that came to mind had him jump as he realized he heard clattering coming up on the black lion. Danger? No, Kosmo’s fur wasn’t bristling.  
“You’re a really hard guy to find when you want to be, you know that?”

Lance. He was standing there, wearing some ridiculous garb. He’d been looking for Keith? Him of all people? Why?

Keith couldn’t help but laugh.  
“What are you wearing?”  
“It’s some altean garb. Coran wanted me to wear it for my date with allura.”

Keith felt his face fall, but he forced a smile before Lance could see his disappointment.  
“A date with allura, huh?” His voice came out more flirty than he intended, but it was still nice, talking to lance like his equal now, not his rival, like his ally, his friend. “Good for you.”

Lance didn’t notice Keith’s change of tone.  
“Yeah, just hope I don’t screw it up.”  
“You won’t,” Keith assured him, despite himself. “Just be the Lance I know you can be. The red who’s always looking out for the team. And me.”  
Keith felt his chest twist with how romantic his words sounded, how cheesy they were, how red his face was getting, but lance wasn’t paying him any attention, not his face anyway. He was listening but not looking his way.

Instead, Lance looked up at the stretching sky, a bright orange landscape beyond them and he realized this was the most romantic setting he’d ever seen. And he was up here. With Keith.  
“You come to watch the sunset?” Lance asked, nervously changing the subject, trying not to sound awkward.  
Keith seemed unfazed.  
“Yeah, I figured it’d be a while before we see another one so…” Keith trailed off, his face growing warmer. He was talking about a sunset. With Lance of all people. It just felt weird. His stomach lurched.  
He had been giving Lance advice about how to be with Allura, because he knew she made him happy, but he knew Allura didn’t feel the same. But Keith did. Keith had admired Lance’s growth from afar, but never acknowledged it. He’d liked him all along, since their bonding moment that Lance pretended he didn’t remember. But Keith remembered it, so clearly he felt the moment his heart almost burst after it happened. 

He’d always wanted to show Lance praise, but it always felt strange to do so, like Lance wouldn’t think he was being genuine. It hurt, it really did.  
“Lance—“ Keith began, then paused, not knowing what to say.  
Lance blinked at him, confused.  
“Allura will have a nice time I think. I hope she knows what she’s getting herself into though.” Keith laughed it off, but inside he was emotionally torn.  
“Thanks, man. I’ll leave you to it up here.”  
Lance got up to leave, and Keith wanted to stop him, plead with him, tell him Allura would never love him the way he did—but he couldn’t do that to Lance.  
“See you around, man.”

Keith POV 

Keith waved to Lance as he headed off without him, lying down and staring at the sky, tears quietly filling his eyes. Music filled his head, the way it always did when he was feeling down. It was almost like he was in his own musical, but just in his head. The song One of Us by Abba came on in his head, like a playlist left on shuffle. Except, the song fit the situation real well for once. 

One of us is crying, one of us is lying, in his lonely bed...

Keith picked himself up, wiping at his eyes. Kosmo cocked his head to one side in confusion.  
“It’s complicated,” Keith grunted at the wolf, who gave him a disbelieving “seriously?” look in return.  
“Shut up.” Keith chuckled. “Come on, boy, let’s--”  
Kosmo nudged Keith from behind with his muzzle.  
“Kos-Kosmo what the hell are you doing? I said we’re heading out okay? Just--”  
Kosmo nudged him again, harder this time. He didn’t usually behave this way.  
“What is it buddy? Something wrong?”  
Kosmo looked from Keith to where Lance had been sitting beside him then back to Keith and whined. 

Keith sighed. The wolf was from another world, another entire galaxy and he still seemed to know what was going on with Keith. 

And the cosmic wolf had a point. If this was to be their last sunset on Earth, Keith had to make it worth remembering. But was it worth ruining his established friendship with Lance? Keith was no good with feelings, especially describing how he felt for people, and definitely saying how he felt for the blue paladin would be a new challenge altogether. Lance was the first boy he’d ever crushed on. And it had started only months ago when the group had become paladins of voltron. 

“Alright, I’ll tell him.” Keith told the wolf, sighing. “I just hope it doesn’t ruin things between us.”  
Kosmo licked his cheek reassuringly, affectionately nudging his face with his muzzle as if to say ‘don’t you worry, owner. Everything will be fine’.

 

LANCE POV

The date had not gone as planned. Lance had confessed his love for Allura, on the first date no less, but he genuinely wanted her to know how he felt, regardless of how she felt back. He was running out of opportunities to enlighten her and with Hunk’s influence, he had finally admitted it. 

“I’m sorry Lance, but I just don’t--I don’t feel the same way about you. I-I think of you as a dear friend.”

Lance felt his heart ache inside his chest. He was so stupid. Why would a princess want someone like him? He wasn’t a prince, he wasn’t royalty at all. He was nothing special afterall. His insecurities took over from there, convincing him he was an idiot for even telling her the truth. But she had deserved to know, he’d wanted her to. He stayed standing there, saying nothing, refusing to look at Allura.

“Lance? Please say something, I’m sorry.” Allura’s voice was soft and anxious, her blue eyes fixed on Lance.

“I-I…”Lance trailed off, his voice wobbly, his eyes threatening to spill tears. He couldn’t let Allura see him like this.  
“I need some air.” He said finally, despite the fact that the two of them were already outside. He took a step away from Allura and then sprinted away, further into the forest where they had decided upon to have their date.  
“Lance wait--”

Allura called after him but he kept running away. He kept his gaze at the grass, until his eyes shut, trying to force the tears to go back into his tear ducts, feeling embarrassed for letting them fall. The leaves on the trees rushing against his body left rustling sounds as he ran, but he paid no attention to the sounds of the forest, lost in his own mind, trapped even. 

“Lance?”

Lance thought he heard Allura calling him again and this time he slowed down, realizing he’d gone much further than he thought. Had Allura chased after him? The voice didn’t sound like Allura’s though. It came from close by and it was much lower than hers.  
“Keith?” Lance asked into the night air. No response at first, then--  
“Yeah, I’m here.” Keith replied softly, almost shyly.  
“What are you doing out here?” Lance asked, annoyedly, without meaning to sound rude but his hurt showed through his voice.  
“Oh, I-I was just out here to take a walk. Alone.”  
Keith sounded weird, awkward. Like he’d lost his new comfortable way of speaking to Lance, like something was weighing down on his mind.  
“You okay Keith?” Lance asked. Look at him! Here he was in pain about Allura’s rejection and he was curious about how Keith was doing, why he was out in this strange forest at night, alone. He was always worried about other people, even when he felt like his world might implode on him. Just once, he’d like someone else to take his feelings into account. Just once, he’d like someone to ask him if he was okay.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More soft moments between the boys, get ready for the slowly developing romance we deserved :)

KEITH POV

“I’m alright…”Keith began hesitantly, knowing something was definitely off with Lance. His eyes were darting all over, not looking directly at anything, especially not him.  
“Lance, man, you okay?” Keith inquired, sounding genuinely concerned.   
Lance blinked and Keith could see tears fall down his cheeks in the light of the moon shining on his face. He truly looked magnificent, but now was not the time to admire him.   
Keith confession would have to wait. Now was the worst time to tell him anything.   
“Lance--”  
“I-Allura doesn’t like me back. I-I feel so stupid.” Lance blurted out. Keith had no idea why Lance was telling him of all people, but it made Keith feel a bit better about waiting to tell him.  
“I-I’m so sorry Lance. You deserve to have someone reciprocate your feelings.” Keith tensed at his response, worried Lance could get the hint, but Lance was too distressed and upset to really pay attention to his words. Suddenly, Lance looked him in the eyes and rushed forward into Keith, wrapping his arms around him in a tight embrace. 

Keith felt his face get really warm and he melted into the hug, feeling closer to Lance than ever, even given the circumstance. He sighed inwardly, knowing that this wasn’t the time to tell Lance anything about how he felt towards the Cuban boy, but he knew he wanted him to feel better.  
“Hey,” He reached for Lance’s arm, thinking taking his hand would be too intimate and less of a friend gesture. And that’s all they were currently. Friends.  
“Come on, I wanna take you somewhere.” He told Lance quietly, almost like a plea.  
Lance blinked at him, confused and still visibly upset.   
“Keith I don’t know if I want t—“  
“It’ll make you feel better, I promise.”   
“But—“  
Keith let go of Lance’s arm and held out his hand for Lance to take it.   
“Just trust me.”   
Lance’s blue eyes sparkled against the darkness of the forest.  
“Alright.” He replied rather reluctantly, but he smiled at Keith and took his hand. Keith smiled back at Lance and led him through the woods, past bramble bushes and tons of trees whose leaves were just gray or black blobs in the eerie darkness. They kept walking along the dirt path, both of them being unusually silent as they trekked through the forest, half-blindly tripping over tree roots until Keith finally saw what he was looking for.   
Up ahead was a moderately tall cliff face that jutted out against the trees. The moon glimmered on the rocky surface, making the stones shine silver. It seemed like a good place to look out at the world and get lost in thought.  
“Here we are.” Keith declared, starting to climb up.  
“You want us to climb that?” Lance cried out, sounding unnaturally loud in the otherwise silent forest.  
Keith couldn’t help but chuckle.  
“Yes, it’s beautiful up there, seriously. I’ll help you up, come on.” He reassured the blue paladin.   
Lance bent his fingers on both hands, getting ready to climb up after Keith reached the top. 

He started his climb slowly, as it was hard to see where he should put his feet, making it even harder to keep his footing when he couldn’t even see his next foothold. It took a bit but more and more he got closer to the top. Just as he was reaching the last leg of the climb, all at once he moved too quickly and started slipping down the cliff.  
His eyes widened in fright.   
“Keith—“ Lance let out a scared gasp of air, calling the red paladin’s name.   
“I got you.” Keith grunted, reaching down and clutching Lance’s hand and tugging him the rest of the way up the cliff face. 

The two of them fell to their knees, trying to catch their breath.   
Keith laughed, getting to his feet first.   
“That was scary, huh?” He inquired, walking over to the opposite side of the cliff face they had climbed up, sitting down and letting his short legs dangle over the edge.   
Keith turned to look at Lance, who looked confused and unsure what to do with himself now that he was up there.   
“Hey, come here.” Keith patted the spot next to him.   
Lance said nothing as he walked over and sat next to Keith.  
“Gorgeous right?” Keith asked him, gazing out into the darkness.  
Lance made a face.   
“I don’t see anything.” He replied softly, sounding embarrassed.  
Keith scoffed at him.  
“You gotta look with your ears.” Keith informed him. You sound stupid, a voice inside told him but Keith ignored it. He always felt more comfortable at night, had always found night time beautiful and calming, and he wanted more people to appreciate it for what it was.   
“Close your eyes and just listen for a sec. Then open your eyes and you’ll see what I mean.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cute moments coming up my dudes

Lance POV

Lance could feel Keith watching him as he shut his eyes and allowed the silence of the night to fall away, picking up soft animal sounds here and there as well as the wind in the trees and bugs making their calls into the black night air. 

When he opened his eyes it was like something came over him. He could see everything he had been hearing—well in a way. He could imagine the bugs on every blade of grass below him, chirping their night songs, birds chittering as they slept in their nests, animals snoring in their burrows or dens. The sensation of really seeing the night sounds he was hearing made Lance feel calm and at ease. He didn't remember why he was upset in the first place. 

Until he stopped seeing, and the silence of the blackness surrounding him came in, filtering out the night’s noises. 

And one word pricked inside his brain: Allura. 

Lance sighed deeply before flopping down on the rock. His head throbbed as it collided with the rocky surface but he ignored it, feeling too emotionally numb to let anything else truly hurt him. 

Keith settled down next to him, his purple eyes fixing on Lance’s face as they gazed up at the stars.

Keith knew he had to get Lance out of his funk.   
“Hey,” He nudged Lance’s arm softly with his right hand. He pointed upward toward the sky with the same hand, gesturing toward the stars.  
“What do you think those stars look like?” He asked.  
Lance scoffed and flashed him a look of annoyance.   
“They’re not clouds, Keith. You can’t guess what the constellations are, they’re part of Greek history or whatever.”  
“Come on Lance just look at them like dots.”  
Lance sighed deeply.   
Keith looked thoughtful.  
“Don’t those look like Red?”  
He indicated a series of stars that when they came together really did look like a sky lion. 

“Oh yeah, it really does.” Lance’s face moved into a genuine smile.   
“And that one looks like Rover.”  
Keith chuckled. 

Lance turned away from him though, and Keith frowned again, knowing that cheering Lance up couldn't be that easy. Not really. 

“I just can’t believe she-she rejected me like that, Keith.” Lance’s blue eyes drifted upwards to make contact with Keith’s eyes again, as he addressed him. Keith felt heat rise in his cheeks at the direct eye contact, his arms crossing over his chest as he sat up. He didn’t know how to respond to that. ‘I’m sorry’? ‘Move on?’ Both seemed pretty harsh. Keith needed to be sensitive to Lance’s feelings but he wasn’t exactly sure how to go about it. 

The silence made Lance sigh and turn over on his side. Keith uncrossed his arms and took a step forward then hesitated a second before stepping back. He had to stop treating Lance like a lion caught in a trap, but what was he supposed to say? He felt too awkward in this kind of situation, he always had.   
“Even you hate me,”Lance was saying, which brought Keith out of his thoughts.   
Keith took a step towards Lance without really thinking.  
“I do NOT hate you.” He responded stiffly, having had enough of Lance putting himself down. He spoke as if he had been perfectly able to form words minutes before, as if he hadn’t had to think and rethink everything he wanted to tell Lance.   
Lance scoffed. “You got a weird way of showing it then.” He replied bitterly.

Keith clenched his fists, dangling them by his sides. He rounded on lance, immediately getting on the defensive.  
“Would a guy who hates you be out here trying to cheer you up right now?” He demanded angrily.   
“Well maybe I don’t need y--”Lance tried to speak but Keith cut him off, continuing to speak loudly in the quiet night.   
“Would a guy who hates you seriously be out in the cold at night, trying to help you take your mind off of things, yet having to listen to you bitch and moan all night about some girl who doesn’t deserve you because she’s never loved you the way you want to be loved, the way you have loved her?!”  
“Keith--” Lance tried again, his blue eyes softening as he gazed back at Keith. Still, Keith continued his rant.  
“And maybe if you weren’t so oblivious, you’d see how much of a coward that guy is compared to you and that’s why he has to compete with you all the time not the other way around, because at least one of us had the guts to admit to someone that they loved them.”  
Keith’s fists went numb at his sides as silent tears began falling down his cheeks. Scared to see his reaction, he didn’t dare look at Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me y'all this is the beginning of cuteness you just can't see it yet <3 please leave feedback i greatly appreciate it thanksss


	4. Chapter 4

LANCE POV

Lance’s mouth went wide, agape. For the first time in a long, long time, Lance had no words for the situation. No flirty remarks, no cocky one-liners, nothing. All he could do was stare at Keith with his mouth wide open.   
Afterall, Lance didn’t know what to say around Keith, not anymore if he ever did in the first place. His face always grew hot around the former red paladin when he teased him. Their dynamic had always been rivals - neck ‘n’ neck - why had Keith tried to change that? Why had he all of a sudden turned friendly when he rescued Lance from Sendak months ago? Why go and ruin a good thing and make all their future interactions so nerve-wracking for Lance? Lance had come to him with his insecurities and had reassured him that everything would be fine. Why had Keith always been so willing to sacrifice himself so Lance could be safe and happy? Why did he make Lance care about him more than he had cared about any boy before, in a way he hadn’t felt towards another boy before, and yet make him force an attraction on Allura, the closest girl in proximity because he believed Keith would only ever see him as this goof-ball, not-quite-all-put-together, insecure guy who’d be his rival and never anything more? All because he had to prove to himself that he only liked girls?

Lance’s mouth closed as realization hit him all at once.  
“I-” He began breathlessly after a long silence. “I don’t hate you either.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I worked really hard on these last few chapters, hopefully it'll end well-written. All feedback is good feedback so thank you in advance <3

KEITH POV

Keith’s eyes wandered expectantly towards Lance, his gaze anxious and darting from side to side.   
“Oh…”Keith replied softly, his voice barely a whisper.   
“I-” Lance was speaking again but Keith didn’t want to hear it. He couldn’t take another broken heart.  
Keith realized his hand in a “stop it” motion.  
“Save your sorries or whatever you’re gonna say Lance, I don’t wanna hear it.” Keith said despite himself. “You and Allura may not be meant to be or whatever, but that doesn’t mean another girl out there in the universe won’t love you.”  
Keith’s words didn’t sound comforting at all but he didn’t care at this point. His words came out choked but he forced them out anyway. He only wanted Lance to be happy after all. He headed toward the edge of the cliff face and started going down it.  
“Keith wait!” Lance called after him but he ignored the red paladin and continued going down the cliff face.   
When he reached the bottom of the cliff he jumped down to the ground and started running, wiping his tear-stained cheeks as he sprinted away. 

***  
He wasn’t sure exactly where he was heading, but he’d made a fucking fool of himself in front of Lance, and he couldn’t hold back his embarrassment any longer.   
He finally stopped running, out of breath.  
“Keith!”  
Lance’s voice sounded nearby. Should he keep running? He was tired, he never was as athletic as Lance. He couldn’t keep running forever.   
“Keith!” His voice sounded closer still.  
He started walking again, too tired to run when a hand fell on his shoulder.   
Keith wrenched it away.  
“Keith, just listen to me.” Lance pleaded. Keith didn’t turn around.  
“Go find your dream girl,” Keith grumbled. “Leave me alone.”  
“I’m not going anywhere.”  
Keith heard Lance sigh behind him.  
“I’m not going anywhere...because the guy who I love is right here.”  
Keith though his ears were deceiving him. He hadn’t wanted to say anything else to Lance but he found himself asking, “What did you say?”  
Lance smiled as Keith turned toward him. His voice was thick and his words seemed to catch in his throat but he still tried to speak.  
“I said, I love you mullet.” Lance told him fondly. “I should have said it before now, but I-I was scared and I didn’t understand. There were all these feelings that were so new to me. But me fawning all over Allura can’t have been easy for you and for that I-I’m sorry.”

Keith’s mouth turned upward in a smile, his eyes still shiny with tears that were no longer falling.   
“But I’m-I’m me.” Keith stammered, sounding breathless. “A hotheaded, stubborn little--”  
“Yeah,” Lance chuckled. “I know. I want you to be my hotheaded, stubborn boyfriend. If-If that’s what you want.” 

***

**Author's Note:**

> This is just part one folks, it's kind of rusty I know, but hopefully the next few chapters will be better :)


End file.
